Wire-working machine



J. F. SHELTON.

WIRE WORKING MACHINE.

- APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6. 1919.

Patented Dec. 16,1919. 7

3 SHEETSSHEET I.

at awve/wtoz J. F. SHELTON.

WIRE WORKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6, 1919. 1,325,047. Patented Dec.16,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J. F. SHELTON.

WIRE WORKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR 6 1919 Patented Dec. 16, 1919,

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- .ing mechanism,

UNITED STATES PATENT orfr'rcn.

' JOHN F. summon, or roar wonrrr. 'rnxas.

WIRE-"WORKING MAcHInn.

To all whom z't'may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN FQSHELTON, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Forth Worth, in the county of Tarrant and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wire-\Vorking Machines, of which the followin is a s ecification. D

My invention relates to wire working machines and more particularly to forming hangers for coats, trousers, and other clothing; and the object is to provide a machine whiclr is relatively inexpensive and which can be operated with rapidity and accuracy with little power and which will be highly eflicient in turning out great quantities of hangers in short time. Other objects and advantages will be fully explained in the following description and the invention will be more particularly pointed out in the. claims. l

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings which form a part of thisapplication.

- Figure 1 is a front sideelevation of the machine. Fig.2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the hqgk-forming mechanism. Fig. 5 a view' of a hanger made on the machine herein described. Fig. 6 is a detail view of one of the throw rods.

Fig. 7 is a side elevation of one of the body formers. Figs. 8, 9, and 10 are detail views of the cam lock and release. Figs. 11 and 12 are detail views of the twisting die.

Similar characters of reference are used to indicate the same parts throughout the The machine is provided with a rectangular frame 1 supported by upright posts 2 which may be of angle iron or channel iron. The machine is provided with two cog wheels 3 which are provided with shafts 4 whiclrnre journaled 1n a platform frame piece 5 whichis rigid with the machine frame. The: shafts 4 project above the cog. wheels 3; and constitute parts of the form serving to make the short bends in the hangers. carry which are rigid vtherewlth. During the operation of forming a hanger, the cog' wheels 3 are driven to bring the formers 6 around to the dotted outline positions shpwn in Fig. 2. Brackets? and 8 are provided for holding the wires. These brackets are Specification 01' Letters Patent.

The cog wheels the two main forming elements 6 Patented Dec. 16, 1919.

Application filed MarchG, 1919. Serial No. 281,002.

mounted on the platform 5.- The bracket be to the right of the plate 14, as shown in Fig., 2, and the. portion of the wire to the r ghtof the. plate 14 is suificiently greater than .the portion towardthe member!) to the other when the ends are brought together. This is necessary so that theshank of the hanger will be at the right place when formed. .A latform or holder 10' is posi- -form a shank and a hook on the shank. In such position, one end will project beyond tioned just a ove the wheels 3 for the wires, I

and this holder is carried by a bracket 11 Y which is attached to a barv 12 which is attached to the machine frame When the 'wheels 3 are rotated, the ends of the wire 13 are bent about the shafts 4 by the formers 6 and brought against a former plate 14 and pressed firmly against this plate. This is the first step in the process of forming the hanger.

Th'ewheels 3 are driven by a motor'15 which is provided'with a pulley 16 which drives a belt 17. -The belt drives; a pulley 18 which is integral witl yth e balance wheel 19. Pulley 18 drives shaft 20.

which carries and drives a pinion 21. The pinion 21 drives a cog wheel 22 which is rigid'with shaft 23' and drives this shaft. The shaft 23 runs continuously during operation. Means are connected with this shaft and with the wheels 3 for driving the wheels 3 intermittently; A pulley 24 is made rigid with one of the shafts 4 and a strap belt 2.5 is attached to the pulley 24 at one end then run over a pulley 26 and attached to a lever 27 which is fulcrumed- -o'n the frame at 28. The lever 27 is actuated by a cam 29 which is loosely mounted on the shaft 23. The cam 29 is locked-to the shaft 23 for'driving purposes bya collar 30 and a plunger pin 31. The cam 29 has a hub 32, and a recess 33 is cored out longitudinally in the hub, and a slot'34 is made in the periphery of the hub (seeFig. 9). The plunger pin 31 moves lon 'tudinally in the recess 33. A lug 35. is mtegral with the pin 31 and projects through the slot .34.

A spiral spring 36 tends to ke rip the pin 31 thrust toward the collar 30. he collar 30 has a number of recesses 37 adapted to receive the pin 31. Unless the pin 31 is held out of the collar the cam 29 would turn continually with the' collar 30. In order to withdraw the pin 31 from the collar 30 a beveled trip or releasing device 38 bears against the hub As the hub 32 turns toward the trip 38, the lug 35 will strike the trip or cam release .38 and the pin 31 will be forced back toward the cam 29 against the tension of spring 36 and the pin 31 will be withdrawn from the collar 30 so that the cam 29 can be released from the shaft The lug 35 will strike the stop 39 and the cam 29 will be held stationary until the stop 39 is withdrawn from the lug 35. At the moment when the stop 39 is withdrawn from the lug 35. the spring 36 will instantly thrust the pin 31 into the collar 30 so that the cam 29 will be driven with the shaft and collar 30. The stop 39 is slidably mounted in a bracket or keeper 40 which is attached to the support 41 which is bolted to the machine frame. The stop is actuated by compound levers 42 and 43. The lever 42 is 'fulcrumcd to the bar 12 at 44 and the lever 43 is pivotally connected to the lever 42 and fulcrumed on the bar 45 at 46. The lever 43 is held in position to press the stop 39 against the hub by means of a spring 47 which is at tached to a frame piece 1 and to the lever 42. The lever 42 is manually operated to actuate the lever 43. As soon as the cam 29 is released it will commence revolving and will strike the lever 27 and bear this lever down so that the wheel 26 will be turned and the gear wheels 3 will be rotated through the gearing above described.

The operation of the parts above described may be briefly described. T he shafts 20 and 23 run continually while the motor 15 is connected to a supply source of electricity. A wire 13 is put in place as shown in Fig. 1. The levers 42 and 43 are actuated to release the cam 29 which commences to turn for actuating the lever 27 for actuating the gearing to turn the wheels 3. The wheels 3 by means of the formers 6 bend the wire to the dotted outline position and by the time this is accomplished, the cam 29 has re volved once and is released from driving position by the stop 39.

Means are provided for restoring the wheels 3 to starting position. The wheels 3 are locked in position at points Where they have brought the formers 6 to dotted 0ut line. A lock 50 is attached to the bottom of one wheel 3 and is adapted to catch on a stop 51 which is adjustably attached to the frame piece 1. Means are provided for releasing the catch 50 so that the wheels 3 can go back to starting position. A lever 52 is fulcrumed on the vertical bar 53 and carries a push rod 54 which rests against the bottom of the latch 50. A link bar 55 is pivotally connected to the lever 52 and depends therefrom and hangs down in a guide casing 56 and a pedal 57 is formed on the bottom. The operator simply presses on the pedal 57 for releasing the wheels 3. One wheel 3 drives the other. A strap belt 58 runs over a pulley 59 and then to and about pulley 24, above described. The belt 58 is supported. on pulley 24 by the flange 58. A weight 60 is attached to the other end of the belt 58. As soon as the latch 50 is released from the stop 51, the weight 60 will automatically restore the wheels 3 to starting position.

A rack 61 is provided on the back part of the machine for supporting a supply of rods or wires to be formed into hangers and a rod 62 is mounted on brackets above the machine to support the completed hangers. Means are provided for twisting the ends of the wire together after they have been pressed against the plate 14. The plate 14 is pivotally mounted by a pivot bolt 14 and is swung backwardly out of the way of the. twisting device. The twisting device consists of a hollow shaft 63 which is journalcd in bearings attached to the upright frame piece 2. This shaft is thrust. manually on the ends of the wire and then twisted by means of a crank 64. The shaft 63 is provided with a die 82 which is screwed into the end of the shaft 63. die has a widened opening 83 for receiving the two ends of the wire for forming a twist in the wire.

After the ends of the wire are twisted together. a hook is formed of one end of the wire which is longer than the other end. F or this purpose a die 65 is provided and mounted on a plate 66 which is hinged to a bracket 67. A cotiperating die member 68 is movable in a slot 69 in plate 66. The die member 68- has a shank 70 which projects down into a holder 71 loosely and the holder 71 is actuated by a bar 72 which is pivotally connected to a lever 73. The holder 71 slides on the frame piece 1. The upright support 2 is braced to the machine frame by braces 74. The plate 66 is swung up to horizontal position. The long end of the wire lies across the curved cavity in the die 65. The cooperating die member 68 is then forced against the wire by means of the lever 73 and the wire is partly curved. A bending device, consisting of a lever 75 which carries a. hook member 76, is then operated to force the end of the Wire about the die member 68. The lever 7 5 is pivotally mounted on the die member 65 and swings in a plane parallel to the plate 66 between stops 77 and 78. and the hook 76 depends from the lever 75 to engage the portion of the Wire which is not bent by the die members 65 and 68 and completes the bending of the Wire on member 68 to make the hook. Stops 77 and 78 limit the movement of the The position shown in Fig. 4 to horizontal position for forming the hook on the hanger. The spring 7 9 normally holds the hookforming devices down to the position illustrated in Fig. 4;. The throw-rod 72 is adapted to rest on and slide on the cross-pin 86 used as a fulcrum.

When a hanger is finished, it is shoved up from its position for removal by a push rod 80 which carries a lug 81 for lifting the hanger off the shafts 4. This is done at the same time the pedal 57 is pressed down for releasing the wheels 3 by releasing the latch or hook 50 from the stop 51. The .lever '52 lifts the push rod 80 at the same time it lifts the push-rod 54.

A guide 84 is provided for the lever 27 The wheel or pulley 26 is provided with a shaft which is j ournaled in hanger bearings 85 and a bridle-shaped guide 84:.is attached to the bearings 85 so that the strap belt 25 will not leave the pulley 26. The guide 84 simply prevents lateralmotion of the lever 27 so that when this lever is actuated it will move in true vertical direction and so hold the belt 25 in line with pulley 26.

What I claim is 1. A wire forming machine comprising a frame, a pair of horizontally disposed wheels provided with'shafts journaled in said machine frame and projecting above the plane of the wheels, means for supporting a wire above and in close proximity tothe plane of said wheels, a centering plate pivotally mounted and adapted to liein the path of the wire under operation, means for posi: tioning the wire on said supporting means I with a reater length of the wire on one side of said centering plate than on the other side of said plate, formers carried by said wheels and adapted to bend a wire about said shafts and to press the ends thereof 3 against said plate, means for rotating said wheels, and means for twisting the-endsof the wire together after removal of said plate.

2. A wire forming machine comprising a frame, a pair ofrhori'zontally disposed wheels 3 provided with shafts journaled in said frame and projecting above the plane of the wheels; means for supporting a wire above and in close proximity to the plane of said wheels, a centering plate pivotally mounted, form- 5 ers rigid with said wheels for bending the wire about said shafts and pressing the same against. said plate, a manually operated shaft, and a die carriedthereby for twisting the ends of said wire together after removal of said, plate. I i

3. A wire forming machine comprising a frame, a pair of horizontally disposed wheels provided with shafts journaled'in said frame and'pro ectmg above the plane of the wheels,

means for rotating said wheels, means for supporting a wire above and in close proX- imity to the plane of said wheels, a centermg forming plate pivotally mounted, formers carried by said Wheels for bending the wire about said shafts and pressing the same against said plate for forming a shank of the end portions of said wire, a manually operated shaft, and a die detachably connected to said shaft for engaging the ends of the wire and twisting the same together after removal of said plate.

4. A wire forming machine comprising a frame a air of horizontally disposed wheels provide with shafts journaled in said frame and" projecting above the plane of. said. wheels, means for rotating said wheels, means for supporting a wire above and in close proximity to said wheels and means c0- operating with the supporting means for aging the wire to project one beyond the otherwhen the ends are brought together. a centering and forming plat-e pivotaltv mounted, formers carried by said wheels for bending the wire about said shafts and against said plate for bringing the end portions ofthe wire close to and parallel to each other, a manually operated shaft, and a die detachably connected to said shaft for engaging the ends of said wire and twisting the same together.

- 5. A wire forming machine comprising a frame, a pair of horizontally disposed wheels provided with shafts journaled in said frame and projecting above the plane of said wheels, means for rotating said wheels periodically, means for supporting a wire above and in close proximity to said wheels, a shank forming plate pivotally mounted on said frame, formers carried by said wheels for bending the wire about said shafts and against said plate, means for twisting the ends of the wire together after removal of said plate, and

hook forming devices for forming a hook on one end portion of the wire after the wire has been twisted together.

6. A wire working machine having means fol-forming a loop of a wire and a shank composed of parallel portions of the wire,

gaging means for ositioning the wire to make one end pro ect beyond the other, means for twisting the end portions together, and means for forming a hook on the projecting end portion of the wire, in-

cluding concave and convex die members for partly forming the hook and a lever carryinga hook for cooperating with said convex die member for completing the hook,

7 A wire working machine having means for forming a loop of a wire and a shank composed of parallel portions of the wire, gaging. means for'positioning the wire to make one end project beyond the other, means for twisting the shank portions ,together, and means for forming a hook of the projecting end consisting of one concave die member and a cylindrical die member movable toward the concave member for bending the wire between the two members.

I S. A wire working machine having means for forming a loop of a wire and a shank composed of parallel portions of the wire, gaging means for positioning the wire to make one end of the parallel portions proj ect beyond the other, means for twisting the shank portions together, and means for forming a hook of the projecting end portion consisting of a concave die member and a cylindrical die member movable relative to said concave member, means for moving said cylindrical memberto press the wire into said concave member, and a lever carrying a former for completing the hook about said cylindrical member.

9. A wire working machine having means for forming a loop of a wire and a shank composed of parallel portions of the wire, gaging means for positioning the wire prior to the forming process to cause one end of the parallel portion to project beyond the other, and means for forming a hook of said projecting portion consisting of a concave die member and a cylindrical die member movable relative to said concave die member, means for forcing said cylindrical memher to press the wire into said concave'member, and a lever carrying a forming device for completing the hook about said cylindrical die member.

10. A wire working machine having a frame, means for forming a loop in a wire and a shank composed of parallel portions of the wire, gaging means for positioning the wire on said frame prior to the forming process to cause one end of the wire to project beyond the other during the forming process, means for twisting said parallel portions together, and means for forming a hook of said projecting end portion consisting of a plate hingedly connected to said frame, a concave die member mounted on said plate, a cylindrical die member loosely connected to saidplate and movable relative to said concave member, a lever and a shifting bar on said frame for forcing said cylindrical member to press the projecting end of the wire into said concave member, and a lever fulcrumed on said frame and provided with a former for completing the hook about said cylindrical member.

11. A wire working machine having a frame, a pair of horizontally disposed wheels provided with shafts journaled in said frame and projecting above the plane of said wheels, means for supporting a wire above and in close proximity to said wheels, a centering forming plate pivotally mounted on said frame, formers carried by said wheels and adapted to bend the wire about said shafts and against said plate to form a shank of the end portions of said wire, and means for driving said wheels periodically consisting of cogs on said wheels whereby one wheel drives the other, a shaft continually revolving during operation, a cam on said shaft operatively connected to said driving wheel for driving the same, means for locking said cam to said shaft for driving purposes, and means for automatically detaching said cam from said shaft and stopping the revolving thereof.

12. A wire working machine having a frame, a pair of horizontally disposed wheels provided with shafts journaled in said frame and projecting above the plane of the wheels. means for sup-porting a wire above and in close proximity to said wheels, a centering forming plate mounted on said frame, formers carried by said wheels and adapted to bend a wire about said shafts and against said plate to form a loop with a shank thereon of said wire, means for driving said wheels periodically consisting of cogs on said wheels whereby one wheel drives the other, a driven shaft continually revolving during operation, a cam loosely mounted on said shaft and provided with operative connections with said driving shaft for driving the same, means for locking said cam to said driven shaft for driving purposes, means for automatically detaching said cam from said driven shaft at the moment said formers press the wire against said plate, means for locking said cam in inoperative position, a lever for releasing the cam for driving purposes, said cam being automatically locked to said driven shaft as soon as released, and a weight operatively connected to said driving wheel for restoring said wheels to starting position.

In testimony whereof I set my hand this 21st day of May, 1918.

JOHN F. SHELTON. 

